From Then to Now
by kopycat101
Summary: 74 years ago. It was a time where when it came to the Hunger Games, rules hadn't been established, and things weren't concrete. The process of the Games only became the norm, years after the 1st Games. When we see Katniss' journey through the 74th Hunger Games, everything is established, and the times of past are forgotten.


**AN**: This is a fic exploring the possibilities in past Games, the possible contrasts from the Games of then to the newer ones just before the 74th Games with Katniss.

Because, honestly, all the rules couldn't have been established and concrete in the early Hunger Games. The Careers can't have always existed. And it just doesn't seem likely that starting to send children to their death won't get **some** type of negative reaction.

Also, I found this to be a good standalone, purely Hunger Games, fic. So this is a separate posting from one of my other stories

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><p>Up until the 73rd Hunger Games, people found a repeating pattern to the Games.<p>

There was a Head Gamemaker who held ideas for the Arenas. Every year, the Arena varied. There would be a large group of Gamemakers, all under the guise of the Head Gamemaker and President.

_However, at the start of the Hunger Games, such a title did not exist. A board had been created to oversee the Hunger Games. The President was a member. They didn't have extravagant, artistic Arenas—simply empty places they could put the necessary equipment and Tributes in._

Districts 1, 2, and 4 were Career Districts. They trained their children to be killers, and often banded together to hunt down the weak. They were cemented in their status as the Capitol's lapdogs, for decades.

_However, at one time, there were no trained Tributes. There were only those who were ferocious enough to survive, who didn't want the honor and glory of going into these death matches, who could never bring themselves to kill another person. _

Career Districts have the most Victors, but sometimes the other Districts will gain a Victor.

_Only District 2 had ever gotten the upper hand when it came to Victors, in the first few Hunger Games. They were the Capitol's most loyal, and their District held all the Peacekeepers and Masonry, so they were strong. _

_For the most part, every District got a Victor in those first 15 years of the Games, except for the poorest and most desolate, District 12._

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The Reapings was the lottery for the Games, the choosing of the Tributes. The Reapings went in order of time zone, so that the Capitolites could watch them in order, starting from District 1 and ending with District 12. Children were roped off in sections by age and gender.

_For many years, the Reaping was incredibly __**dis**__organized. All the children of Reaping age gathered in their City Square, melding and mixing together. Siblings, friends, classmates—they were all able to group together, no matter the different ages or genders. In some Districts, parents were even able to attend with their children in the crowd._

_The Reapings used to not go in numerical order, as well. The Districts farthest away from the Capitol would have their Reapings first, so that they could arrive in time with the inner Districts. The Capitolites weren't so stringent on catching all the Reapings during the times they occurred. They could simply watch recaps of them during their own time._

The calling of names during the Reaping was a dreaded, but simple event. Older and poorer children had more slips in the bowl, and often got chosen. Those chosen had to go, unless someone Volunteered to take their place—which was popular in the Career Districts.

_In the First Hunger Games, such a system was not in place. The bowl was rigged heavily—half the Tributes were Rebels who had survived the war and punishment._

_It wasn't until the Third Hunger Games where the system was first implemented, on older children having more slips in the bowls. The addition of Tesserae also cemented poor children getting Reaped often._

_The promise of money in Victory caused many children of outlier Districts to Volunteer, rather than the children from richer Districts. It was wild and unpredictable, and rarely were the Volunteers prepared for the Games._

The Tributes Reaped would be led to their largest official building—usually the Justice Building—to go to say their goodbyes. Families and friends can attend, and each group given certain allotted time for each visit.

_Goodbyes were a long process, in the olden days. There was no concrete time for them to leave. Groups would pile into one room altogether to wish farewell, staying there for even hours at a time. The guards had a hard time ripping the children from the embraces of family and friends._

The Tributes would be put on lavish, high-tech trains to take them to the Capitol. They are accompanied by a Captiol Escort, their Mentors—previous Victors of the Games—and teams of Avoxes to wait on them hand and foot.

_Older, smaller, basic traveling trains were used. Often, only 3 or 4 carts long. They were made of bulky steel and gears, and didn't go in such astounding speeds. _

_And often, the small trains were flooding with guards, there to watch over the Tributes to make sure they didn't kill themselves or escape. There would be no servants to attend to their needs—and there was simply an Escort to take the children to the Capitol, and a Capitolite who would mentor the Tributes. _

The affair of the trains arriving to the Capitol was an exciting event for the privileged people of the utopia. They greeted the Tributes, trying to get a glimpse, get a touch, of them.

_The arrival of the trains was made low-key. Capitolites didn't swarm the trains—they barely knew what the trains were there for. The trains also entered in an outskirt part of the grand utopia, not snaking through the heart of it. Not to mention that they would arrive in different, random intervals._

The Tributes were bewildered, maybe a bit nervous and afraid. But they allowed themselves to be led where they needed to go. They took the sights in, and never reacted violently. Those were rare occurrences.

_Children would panic spectacularly, trying to furiously fight to run away or end things. They were scared, they were crying, they were bitter and paranoid. Many simply couldn't function. It took a few years to finally get a batch of Tributes where every child simply followed orders, and acted normal._

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The Tributes would be swept away by a team of Stylists, to be prepared for the Chariot Rides—an extravagant parade of the Tributes along the heart of the Capitol. The stylists would beautify the tributes, polishing them, draping them in costumes that represented each of their Districts.

_The Chariot Rides weren't a staple from the first two Games. They weren't overtly extravagant, even when they started the tradition. Mild costumes, a more mild crowd. _

_There wasn't enough time for complete makeovers, or extravagant clothing. The Districts would arrive in varying times, and had to be out at a certain hour for the parade, not leaving much time for certain Stylists._

The children were told to make a good impression. Most did so—they would wave, smile, put on an act to get the love and adoration of the Capitol.

_The Tributes were often stiff. It was rare for someone to smile and wave, or put on an impression or act to please the crowd. A majority were frozen, looking like cadavers stuffed in costumes, without a single reaction. _

The tributes were taken to special accommodations. A large skyscraper, with a swift elevator, the buttons marked for each corresponding District. Each District had an entire floor—a large suite—for the Tributes, Mentors, Escort, Stylist Team, and Avoxes. This place was called the Training Center.

There were no guards to keep anyone in line. Simply hidden cameras, and the knowledge that the Capitol was watching you and every move you make. The children could do almost anything with their time and resources.

_Accommodations had been a steel-reinforced building, one room for each District. Even when they were upgraded, only the Tributes, Mentor, and Escort would live on a floor. _

_Every floor was heavily guarded. Many Tributes would try ending their misery early, overwhelmed by the dread of entering the Hunger Games. Tributes weren't such sheep, weren't so calm to go to their slaughter. Children could turn rabid, spitting and clawing, making everything as chaotic as possible. They would fight their guards, or their assigned Capitolites. They didn't have many things to do, or many resources to use.._

The children could have literally anything they could ever dream of, in their short stay in the Capitol. Plush beds, scented baths, dozens of outfits to wear, and any type of rich food imaginable. They were pampered and fattened up before they were thrown out to be slaughtered, but those few days were heaven and thousands of pooled resources.

_The Tributes weren't given such leeway, nor where they pampered so spectacularly. Glitz and glamour wasn't part of the pre-Games. Interviews and Chariot Rides and Sponsors weren't important. Rooming was a bleak affair. _

_Those few days were hell for Tributes. The waiting was unbearable, especially with so little to occupy your time with. The things they got were basic—basic changes of clothes, basic food, basic rooms. The children were simply kept there, waiting to be slaughtered._

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Tributes had to go to the basement of the Training Center for Training. Three days of preparation for the children to learn survival skills. Almost the entire basement floor was one single room, booths and equipment to signify the different stations. Any type of survival skill one would need was in this room, simply there for the chance of one of these children to near and start practicing.

The room had deadly skills—weapons, target practice, sparring, hand-to-hand combat, weights, simulations. They had purely physical skills—obstacle course, rope climbing, rock walls, a track, sometimes even a pool to learn swimming. They had useful skills—plant identification, fire making, water purifying, snares, traps. They had minor survival skills that were unpopular, but once every few years, would serve useful in the Games—fishing, rope tying, bug eating, first aid, camouflage.

_Training used to be in a bleak, steel-reinforced building. Guards were everywhere, watching the children to make sure they didn't hurt themselves or others with the few materials available to them._

_Tables served as the stations, and there wasn't a large collection of them. You could only learn the very basics of each skill, with the little resources they gave you. Bare essentials on skills to learn. Many children were too depressed to attend of their own volition._

_It took a lot of pushing, especially from the Victors, and many years, for Training to be what it is in the future. _

The last half of the third day of Training would be when the Tributes would show their skills to the Gamemakers. They would be graded from a scale of 1 to 12, 1 being the worst.

Usually the outlier Districts would get scores of 1 through 7. The Careers would get scores of 7 to 10, with the occasional, strong non-Career gaining such a score. The scores are broadcasted, to help people know who has the best chance of winning. Many people bet on the Tributes, using these scores as a basis.

_It used to be a simple panel of judges to give scores to the Tributes. Many years passed, before a tribute ever got a 1 or 11. Even the most desolate, useless children would be given a 2; never a 1._

_Scores could vary greatly. Each year, the scores were compared against that of the highest score, this often turning to be a more effective method than the numbering scale. A score of 10 in the first dozen Hunger Games could be akin to a 12 or 14 in modern ones_.

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The next day was the Interviews. The children had hours to be coached and dressed. In the late evening, they would get on stage, dressed in beautiful clothing. They had three minutes to make a good impression, to make themselves memorable.

_Interviews were usually bleak, with only a handful of truly memorable Tributes. Stage fright was common, and a strong force. It was mostly just a test, to see who was truly worth the effort to watch in the Games. Also, it was one last time to see these children civilized, before they turn into complete beasts, and die._

People could Sponsor the Tributes. Give the Mentors their money, so that they could help the children in the Arena. Money to but essential, often life-saving supplies. Sponsorship was so show how much certain Capitolites adored the children, showing that they **cared**, if only for a few weeks.

Tributes were advised to do everything to gain sponsors. Do well in the Chariot Rides. Get a good Training Score. Do well in your Interviews.

_Sponsorship was an addition that turned the Games into an entertainment industry. Capitolites always mumbled on how they wanted to help their favorite Tributes in some way, in past Games—but it was simply never an option. _

_The second President of Panem established the Sponsorship system. It was something to appease both Capitolites and Districts citizens alike. _

_Advising Tributes to do everything to gain sponsors came after the first Hunger Games that had Sponsorship gifts. Everyone got to watch as these gifts lengthened the lifespan of Tributes, and even helped a Tribute attain Victory._

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The Games would start. Tributes would rise up tubes, and into the Arena, standing on platforms that would click into place. There was a countdown of 60 seconds, so the children could take in their surroundings.

_The children were given a minute grace period once they'd risen, to give both them and the tech support some time. Then the countdown would start from 12, and go down to 0._

The stronger Tributes—usually the Careers—would get to the cornucopia of supplies first. The Cornucopia, a large golden metal structure in the shape of a horn, was where the best supplies were located. The largest backpacks, the most weapons, the biggest sacks of food, the most useful survival gear.

_The Cornucopia wasn't a set structure. Sometimes, it was a building. Sometimes, tables, boxes, or racks. The horn structure was rarely painted golden, unless it fit in with a theme._

_Only the fastest and most determined arrived to get the best supplies. They only ever attacked each other at the start of the bounty, if they got in one another's way. Large alliances weren't common. It was often small scuffles and struggles._

This battle over supplies is dubbed The Bloodbath. Anywhere from 5 to 11 tributes can die during this time. 8 is usually the average. Most of the outlier District Tributes who try going to get supplies die during the Bloodbath.

_This struggle for supplies was never officially dubbed a name. It took a Victor from an outlier District to refer it to The Bloodbath for it to stick, spread across the nation, and become an official part of the Hunger Games._

_Any combination of age, gender, and District could die during this time. It honestly depended on the Tributes for each Game. It was also more common for simply one person to kill another, instead of a group movement, before Careers were established. _

Some of the quicker, weaker Tributes would leave the area as quickly as possible, not chancing on the battle for supplies. However, getting supplies would often be the life or death of children later in the Games. This was never much an issue for Careers, who gained both Sponsor gifts and the Cornucopia bounty.

_Even at the very first Hunger Games, supplies being vital was true. A few items could help a tribute survive._

_However, alliances monopolizing the Cornucopia wasn't a very smooth process. Many lone Tributes could sneak off and get supplies, whilst the bounty was unoccupied. It simply took a smart, logical Tribute to figure this out, and use the gap to their advantage. _

When the pool of Tributes starts to narrow, the Careers turn on one another—usually ruining their chances of winning, with the outcome. Many alliances break violently, when it gets to the finals.

_At the start, this wasn't the case. District partners would stick the longest they could with one another. If an alliance was made, it was long-lasting. Very rarely would the break turn violent, or would someone backstab their ally. _

_Children were paranoid, yes. Bitter, scared, and rabid. But back then, they knew the real enemy: The Capitol. Their allies, their District partners—they were in their same situation. They could be trusted._

0-0-0-0-0

It took Coriolanus Snow to cement the Hunger Games as punishment, entertainment, tyranny, complete and utter pain, and celebration. He helped finish molding Panem and the Hunger Games into what they are, by the time the 73rd Hunger Games are over.

It just turns out that by the 74th Hunger Games, all those decades of trying to organize and have a set formula for them, gets shot into flames.

Katniss Everdeen breaks those established rules, making everything as chaotic and uncertain as the first few Hunger Games.


End file.
